Measuring Bandwidth Usage
On the 2013 FRC Field (and at home when the DAP-1522 is configured using the FRC Bridge Configuration Utility) each team is limited to 7Mb/s of network traffic (see the FMS Whitepaper for more details). The FMS Whitepaper provides information on determining the bandwidth usage of the Axis camera, but some teams may wish to measure their overall bandwidth consumption. This document details how to make that measurement.
Measuring Bandwidth Using the Perfomance Monitor (Win 7 only)
Windows 7 contains a built-in tool called the Performance Monitor that can be used to monitor the bandwidth usage over a network interface.
Launching the Performance Monitor
Open Real-Time Monitor
Add Network Counter
- Click the green plus near the top of the screen to add a counter
- In the top left pane, locate and click on Network Interface to select it
- In the bottom left pane, locate the desired network interface (or use All instances to monitor all interfaces)
- Click Add>> to add the counter to the right pane.
- Click OK to add the counters to the graph.
Remove extra counters
Configure Data Properties
Configure Graph Properties
Viewing Bandwidth Usage
You may now connect to your robot as normal over the selected interface (if you haven't done so already). The graph will show the total bandwidth usage of the connection, with the bandwidth cap at the top of the graph. The Last, Average, Min and Max values are also displayed at the bottom of the graph. Note that these values are in Bytes/Second meaning the cap is 917,504. With just the Driver Station open you should see a flat line at ~100000 Bytes/Second.
Measuring Bandwidth Usage using Wireshark
If you are not using Windows 7, you will need to install a 3rd party program to monitor bandwidth usage. One program that can be used for this purpose is Wireshark. Download and install the latest version of Wireshark for your version of Windows. After installation is complete, locate and open Wireshark. Connect your computer to your robot, open the Driver Station and any Dashboard or custom programs you may be using.